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I saw an article in the Daily Camera about The Pinyon’s gluten free fried chicken. The article said it was’t designed to be a gluten free dish, just that the potato flour made a crisper crust. Of course, what Celiac can resist going out to a restaurant and eat fried chicken!? I had to try it. The chicken was really good, even the next day (what is it about cold fried chicken that is so yummy?).

However, The Pinyon is not what I would call a gluten-free friendly restaurant. It’s one of those restaurants that likes to say “Oh, yes! We’re gluten-free friendly,” but when you get there, you can’t have the pancake that goes with the chicken, or you can have this other item so long as it’s without any kind of sauce, or you can only have one of the sides on the menu because the others are all wheat-based in some fashion.

I’m really tired of going to restaurants that like to act “friendly” but really have no intention of making any changes to their menu so people with dietary restrictions can eat what others are eating. You can pick these places out easily since they have no gluten free menu and they say things like “our chef is glad to convert any of our recipes to gluten free.” Translation: you can have a slab of meat on a plate with some steamed broccoli if you like while everyone else has beurre blanc or some other delectable sauce. Sigh.

So, a couple of weeks ago a co-worker told me I should check out Garbanzo’s, which is pretty new to Boulder. I convinced hubby to try it out for dinner one night and while the line was kind of long and ordering seemed confusing at first, the food was good. And almost all of it is gluten free.

This is one of those places where you walk down the line and tell them what to put on your plate, BUT Garbanzo’s has these nifty little signs in front of each dish showing gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc. VERY allergy friendly! I had the falafel plate. I don’t remember the last time I had falafel, so I can’t compare it, but I found these to be tasty little gems. They have several yummy sauces,pickled eggplant and a really tasty babaganuosh.

They have a menu and nutritional information on their website. Definitely a great place for a quick lunch or dinner.

I’m Italian by heritage and love italian food. It hasn’t been easy finding gluten free pizza and pasta at restaurants, but Carelli’s is changing all that. Their pizza is light and crisp and they have ravioli *gasp*! They’ve had gluten free ravioli on their menu for quite some time now, but two weeks ago I learned that they are now offering any pasta dish on their menu gluten free. Yes, I had lobster and crab carbonara in a restaurant – and it was wonderful! Not only that, but they have a crepes bar that is also gluten free. Unfortunately, I did not leave room for dessert, but promised to return to have one of their yummy gluten free appetizers for dinner so I can try the crepes.

I have found the staff to be very helpful and understanding when you ask about the gluten free menu. The restaurant is warm and cozy, and I’ve never had a bad meal there in over 10 years. Please do give them a try and save room for dessert!